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Official Code of Georgia Annotated

Title 45. PUBLIC OFFICERS AND EMPLOYEES · Chapter 17. NOTARIES PUBLIC · Article 1. GENERAL PROVISIONS

45-17-8.2. Misrepresentation prohibited; required notice; posting of schedule of fees; penalties.

Active

Current through: Including Acts of the 2025 Regular Session of the General Assembly.

  1. (a)

    A notary shall not make claims to have or imply he or she has powers, qualifications, rights, or privileges that the office of notary does not authorize, including the powers to counsel on immigration matters and to give legal advice.#

  2. (b)

    A notary who is not an attorney licensed to practice law in this state who advertises the person’s services as a notary public in English or any other language, by radio, television, signs, pamphlets, newspapers, other written communication, or in any other manner, shall post or otherwise include with the advertisement the notice set forth in this subsection in English and in every other language used for the advertisement. The notice shall be of a conspicuous size, if in writing, and shall state: ‘‘I AM NOT AN ATTORNEY LICENSED TO PRACTICE LAW IN THE STATE OF GEORGIA, AND I MAY NOT GIVE LEGAL ADVICE OR ACCEPT FEES FOR LEGAL ADVICE.’’ If the advertisement is made by radio or television, the statement may be modified but must include substantially the same message.#

  3. (c)

    A notary who is not an attorney licensed to practice law in this state is prohibited from representing or advertising that the notary is a ‘‘legal consultant’’ or an expert on legal matters.#

  4. (d)

    A notary who is not an attorney licensed to practice law in this state is prohibited from rendering any service that constitutes the unauthorized practice of law.#

  5. (e)

    A notary required to comply with the provisions of subsection (b) of this Code section shall prominently post at the notary public’s place of business a schedule of fees established by law which a notary may charge. The fee schedule shall be written in English and in any non-English language in which the notary services were solicited and shall contain the notice required in subsection (b) of this Code section, unless the notice is otherwise prominently posted at the notary public’s place of business.#

  6. (f)

    The Attorney General or prosecuting attorney may seek injunctive relief against any notary public who violates the provisions of this Code section. Nothing in this Code section diminishes the authority of the State Bar of Georgia.#

  7. (g)

    A violation of subsection (c) or (d) of this Code section constitutes a deceptive trade practice under Code Section 10-1-427 in addition to any other penalties provided by law.#

Reading note: a word broken across two lines in the printed volume was joined by rule and could not be checked against the volume's own vocabulary. The official page linked below settles any doubt.

The notes below are printed with the section but are not enacted law (O.C.G.A. § 1-1-1(c)). They are shown apart from the text.

History

Code 1981, § 45-17-8.2, enacted by Ga. L. 1984, p. 1105, § 1; Ga. L. 2002, p. 630, § 2.

Cross references

Unauthorized practice of law forbidden, § 15-19-51.

Read the official page (the state's PDF, opened at the page this text was read from).

Current through: Including Acts of the 2025 Regular Session of the General Assembly.

Text read from t45-(v33)-2016-pdf.pdf, Volume V33, 2016 edition, pages 488 to 489; merge action: carried; file SHA-256 7dfce9a0fd88.

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O.C.G.A. § 45-17-8.2. Misrepresentation prohibited; required notice; posting of schedule of fees; penalties. | Georgia Commons